The next morning.
The once-quiet streets gradually grew noisy.
Many people were still asleep, but Jigoro Kuwajima was already in his room, polishing his Nichirin Blade, reminiscing about the past and marveling at the wonderful life that awaited him...
Suddenly, the frantic cries of a Kasugai Crow tore through the sky.
His Kasugai Crow flapped through the window, its feathers disheveled, and cried urgently, "Old man Kuwajima, terrible news! Anshan Village... was attacked! Every Hidden Corps member and villager was killed! Oyakata-sama... he said..."
"What?!" Jigoro Kuwajima shot to his feet, his Nichirin Blade clattering to the floor. "Everyone was killed? Then Kaigaku... what happened to him?"
"That bastard? Hmph! He was the one behind it! Oyakata-sama has already confirmed it!"
"What?" His face turned deathly pale. He stared fixedly at the Kasugai Crow, his voice trembling. "What did you say? Say that again!"
The Kasugai Crow repeated the devastating news in a somber voice.
With the news confirmed, Kuwajima's face turned ashen. His blissful smile had vanished, and he lowered his head, lost in thoughts no one could read.
The Kasugai Crow could no longer see his expression.
Silence... deathly silence...
Only the freshly polished Nichirin Blade shone brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Kaigaku... my eldest disciple..." Kuwajima's voice was hoarse and broken. His wrinkled hands clutched his clothes so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"He actually betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps and became a man-eating demon! The entire village, sixty brothers from the Hidden Corps... he killed them all!"
Sixty lives weighed on his heart like an enormous boulder.
He remembered what Kaigaku had looked like when he first became his disciple as a child, and the days and nights he had spent teaching him everything he knew about Thunder Breathing. He had rejoiced in the boy's talent